2009 Awards

2009 awards

Dr. Fox Receives 2009 ASCE Middlebrooks Award

Dr. Patrick Fox and his co-author, Robert Kim, have received the 2009 Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for their paper entitled, "Effect of progressive failure on measured shear strength of geomembrane/GCL interface." This paper was published in the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, April 2008 issue. The Middlebrooks Award is presented annually to the author(s) of a paper published by ASCE during the previous 12-month period that is judged worthy of special commendation for its merit as a contribution to the field of geotechnical engineering. Dr. Fox also received the 2008 Middlebrooks Award for two companion papers published in the January 2007 issue of the same journal.

Prof. Hutchinson Wins 2009 Shamsher Prakash Research Award

Prof. Tara Hutchinson was recently selected as the Shamsher Prakash Research Award winner for 2009. The Shamsher Prakash Foundation (in India) considers nominations among young engineers, scientists, and researchers from all over the world. Winners are specialists in Geotechnical Engineering and/or Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, who have made significant independent contributions, and who show promise of excellence in research. The award consists of $1,100.00 and a plaque. Congratulations to Prof. Hutchinson for winning this prestigious award!

Professor Restrepo Awarded Institute's Prestigious Award for 2009

PCI's Martin P. Korn award recognizes Prof. José Restepo's paper published in the PCI Journal as most "worthy of special commendation for its merit as a contribution in design and research to the advancement of precast and prestressed concrete." PCI judges selected Restrepo's co-authored paper on "Preliminary Results of the Shake-Table Testing for the Development of a Diaphragm Seismic Design Methodology," published in the Winter 2009 issue of the PCI Journal. The award was presented at the 55th Annual PCI Convention in San Antonio, Texas on September 13.

Dr. Benzoni Named Editor in Chief of International Journal

SE Researcher, Dr. Gianmario Benzoni, was elected as Editor in Chief of the international journal, "Seismic Isolation and Protection Systems," of the Mathematical Science Research Institute in Berkeley, California. The first issue is expected in November, 2009. Congratulations to Dr. Benzoni on this impressive achievement!

Outstanding Seniors Awarded

Nearly eighty undergraduate seniors and their families gathered with SE faculty and staff at the Fourth Annual Senior Reception and Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony on Matthew’s Quad on Friday, June 12, 2009. Professor and Vice-Chair Michael Todd presented this year's award for Outstanding Academic Achievement to Henry Kagey (Valedictorian) and to Michael Daneshvar (Salutatorian).

"TA Excellence Award" Recipient Named

SE Graduate student Don Phillippi was selected for the "TA Excellence Award" for the 2007-08 academic year. Congratulations to Don, and we thank him for his excellent service to our students and faculty!

Professor Todd Awarded 2009 Benjamin F. Meaker Visiting Professorship

Professor Michael Todd was recently announced as one of the 2009 Benjamin F.. Meaker Visiting Professors by the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) Institute of Advanced Studies (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/ias/fellows/bms09.html). Prof. Todd will work this summer with collaborators in the University of Bristol's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and with his SE graduate student Eric Flynn, on optimizing ultrasonic interrogation strategies for defect detection on complex geometry aerospace structural components. The Meaker Fellowship is awarded to up to ten faculty applicants worldwide each year, drawn from all disciplines in engineering, science, social science, humanities, and the arts, to develop and build research relationships with University of Bristol researchers. Congratulations to Prof. Todd on winning this prestigious award!

SE Student to Compete in Idaho Ford Ironman This Summer

Derrick Watkins, SE Ph.D. student and a "Hilti Fellow," will be competing in the Idaho Ford Ironman on June 21, 2009. Simply competing at this level is an outstanding accomplishment, requiring months of focused training. The "Ironman" events consists of 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on a bike, and culminates with a full marathon. SE wishes Derrick best wishes on his latest challenge!

Two SE Students Awarded "Honorable Mention" from National Science Foundation

SE senior Colin Haynes and graduate student researcher Robert Phillips were recently awarded "Honorable Mention" for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program Awards. Honorable Mention recipients are provided enhanced access to cyberinfrastructure resources, including supercomputing time, through the TeraGrid network. Congratulations to both Haynes and Phillips on this achievement!

Professor Conte and Co-Workers Awarded 2009 ASCE Moisseiff Award

During the 2009 Structures Congress in Austin, Texas, Professor Conte together with Dr. Michele Barbato (Ph.D. Graduate from UCSD, 2007, and now Assistant Professor at Louisiana Sate University) and Dr. Alessandro Zona (Postgraduate Researcher at UCSD in 2003-2004 and now Assistant Professor at the University of Camerino, Ascoli Piceno, Italy) were awarded the 2009 ASCE Moisseiff Award for their paper “Nonlinear Seismic Response Analysis of Steel-Concrete Composite Frames,” published in the June 2008 issue of the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering. This paper was particularly noted by the award committee as an important contribution to the knowledge of the dynamic response of composite steel-concrete structures. The Moisseiff Award may be presented to the author(s) of an important paper published by ASCE dealing with the broad field of structural engineering including applied mechanics, theoretical analysis, or constructive improvement of engineering structures of any structural material. The award was established in 1947 in recognition of the accomplishments of Leon S. Moisseiff, M. ASCE, a notable contributor to the science and art of structural engineering. Congratulations to Drs. Conte, Barbato and Zona!

SE Chapter Wins Prestigious Award

The Center for Student Involvement recently awarded the Society of Civil and Structural Engineers (SCSE) as its Outstanding Student Organization of the Year" for 2008-2009. The award is given "to the registered student organization that displays outstanding effort in all areas, in relation to its purpose, based on the following criteria: contributions to the University, contributions to the community, and development of its members." This award is a testament to the hard work that all of SCSE members have put into the organization throughout the past year in order to make it the top student organization at UCSD! The Structural Engineering Department congratulates the organization on this impressive honor.

Chad Foerster Awarded 2009 National Defense Fellowship

Chad Forester, SE graduate student, was recently named as a recipient for the 2009 National Defense Science and Graduate Fellowship. Forester will receive a three-year fellowship which covers full tuition and required fees in addition to a yearly stipend; this fellowship is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Forester's faculty advisor is Professor John Kosmatka. Congratulations, Chad!

SE Student Selected for UC Graduate Research Day

Ian Prowell, SE graduate student, was recently selected as one of two students to represent UC San Diego at the first annual UC Graduate Research Day at the state capital on May 27, 2009. Prowell’s poster is entitled "A Seismic Study of Wind Turbines for Renewable Energy." Prowell's faculty advisor is Professor Ahmed Elgamal. Dean Kim Barrett (Graduate Studies) commented "because of the high quality of the work of those nominated, choosing only two was a very difficult task!" Congratulations to Ian for this prestigious accomplishment!

Professor Restrepo Awarded Best Paper

Dr. José Restrepo was awarded the James Cooper Best Paper Award at the National Seismic Bridge Conference, in Charleston, South Carolina, held July 27 - 30, 2008. The conference continued a series of biennial meetings organized by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and MCEER, University at Buffalo. To read more about the conference, click here.

Structural Engineers Association of San Diego Scholarship Awarded

The Structural Engineers Association of San Diego (SEAOSD) recently announced this year’s scholarship will be awarded to Mr. Colin Haynes, the current Chapter President of SCSE. SEAOSD's Student Awards Night will be held Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Congratulations, Colin!

Robert Phillips Is Named Structural Engineering's Best Poster Winner at 2009 Research Expo

Congratulations to this year's Best Structural Engineering Poster winner, Robert Phillips (Advisor: Professor Lanza di Scalea). Phillips' research poster is entitled "NON-CONTACT ULTRASONIC RAIL DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEM PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND FIELD TESTING," and the abstract can be viewed here. All of the winners can be viewed here, including SE graduate students, Travis Soppe (who received Honorable Mention) and Anna Pridmore (who received the "Science and Engineering Library Award for Best Use of the Literature"). Congratulations to all of our department winners! To view this event's photo gallery, click here.

Colin Haynes Named 2008 Outstanding Civil Engineering Student in California by the American Society of Civil Engineers

SE senior, Colin Haynes, has been named the 2008 Outstanding Civil Engineering Student in California by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The award, including a $750 gift, was presented at the ASCE Region 9 Awards Dinner in Sacramento on February 24, 2009. ASCE cited Colin's "near perfect" academic record, along with his extraordinary record of involvement in student affairs, as the basis for this award. Haynes currently serves as president of the Society of Civil and Structural Engineers, the UCSD student affiliate of ASCE. Under his leadership, student membership in this organization has grown to 182 -- an unprecedented level of participation. Haynes has been an officer of SCSE in three of his four years at UCSD. In addition to officer duties, Haynes has devoted his time as a member of the Steel Bridge team and other events at ASCE-sponsored competitions. He has also been a leader in the Seismic Outreach program, an effort to take earthquake engineering principles into the middle school classrooms of greater San Diego that has involved 2,000 students in the three programs, so far. Haynes was recommended for this award by Tim Murphy, president of the San Diego section of ASCE. Congratulations, Colin, on this impressive accomplishment!

Scott Ouellette wins at Tenth Annual EUReKA Poster Competition

SE undergraduate senior Scott Ouellette (Professor Michael Todd, Advisor) was selected as the winner at the Tenth Annual EUReKA Undergraduate Research Conference held in collaboration with the Corporate Affiliates Program Board Meeting, held February 5, 2009 at UC San Diego. Ouellette’s research poster, entitled “Corrosion-Enabled Powering Approach for Structural Health Monitoring Sensor Networks,” investigates innovative powering solutions for sensor networks via galvanic series corrosion. This technology has the potential for providing maintenance-free power to sensor networks with a shelf life on the order of the host structure. Congratulations, Scott!

On January 20, 2009, Dean Frieder Seible presented Professor Conte with the "Best Teacher Award for 2007-2008." Professor Conte received the popular vote by students completing surveys, and is also awarded a $75 debit card and a $1,500 allocation for undergraduate education improvements. Congratulations, Professor Conte!